Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? That could not be more true of Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers. They may actually miss him so much right now that once the summer arrives, they will make sure they see him around the organization for a long time.
Reaves was forced to exit early from the Lakers' matchup on Christmas Day against the Houston Rockets with a left calf injury. Los Angeles went on to lose that game by a devasting 119-96 margin.
Including that contest, the Lakers have been a middling and average team since Reaves put on street clothes. Technically speaking, it's actually a touch worse than that. Los Angeles has gone 5-6 since their star guard hit the shelf.
Understanding how important a player is can come from moments and stretches like this one. Reaves is a crucial cog in Los Angeles. When the time comes during the offseason, Rob Pelinka and company should be expected to pay him as much.
Lakers’ struggles without Austin Reaves make his summer payday all but inevitable
There should always have been very little doubt that Reaves was going to stick around with the Lakers for the Luka Doncic era. His elevated play to start the year only made his case stronger.
Reaves is averaging 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game in 2025-26 thus far. The talented offensive guard is shooting 50.7 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.3 percent from the free throw line.
Seeing Reaves take his game to another level solidified his position in Los Angeles a ton. Barring the perfect set of circumstances which the Lakers simply could not pass up, their own homegrown guard is exactly what they need moving forward. Reaves has started to look reminiscent of stars like Kyrie Irving and Jalen Brunson who have thrived with Doncic in the past.
NBA insider Sam Amick touched on the contract situation when joining Run It Back on FanDuel TV. Reaves had the backing of a very important person within the Lakers organization.
Amick said, "The plan is Jeanie [Buss] is still the governor of that team. And I bring that up because she’s the captain of the Austin Reaves fan club. ... All signs point to them finding a way to pay Austin that massive amount that’s coming his way this summer."
It's only that much easier to be a fan when seeing the slippage that has happened without AR15. The Lakers are 15-8 when Reaves plays this season. They are only 9-7 without him. Those marks involve a lot of moving parts around Reaves as well. However, it is still tough to dismiss how much better the former undrafted guard makes the team.
Reaves actually leads the Lakers in win shares per 48 minutes (.185). It's not hard to imagine why there is so much more doom and gloom in Los Angeles ever since his disappearance from the court.